


The Silent Playground

by clover71



Category: No. 6 (Anime & Manga)
Genre: M/M, Mild Gore, Science Experiments, Shounen-ai
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-22
Updated: 2012-09-22
Packaged: 2017-11-14 20:03:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/519008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clover71/pseuds/clover71
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Months after they had destroyed the main computer that controlled the correctional facility and, indirectly, the entire region of No. 6, Nezumi and Shion found themselves caught up in a web of a new conspiracy that involved missing children of the elite class and a machine built to regain control of the city.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Silent Playground

**Author's Note:**

> \- The facts and terminologies used here are mostly based on anime since I'm not done reading the novel and haven't read the manga yet. A little background on what transpired in the anime may be needed since some incidents were mentioned in this story and I didn't delve into details expecting that readers are familiar with the anime.  
> \- The concept of the story – especially the one involving the children and the ending – was inspired by a novel called 'Shadows' by John Saul. A creepy story that stuck with me for years.  
> \- Written for Case Story BigBang in LiveJournal.  
> \- Death of a minor character. And mature warning is for violence, not sexual situation.  
> .
> 
> *********************************************************************************************

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Disjointed sounds of laughter reached Nezumi's ears so he marched down the paved path following the fading noise until all that was left was the soft whistling of the wind. 

Aimlessly, he roamed around, not caring where his feet would lead him and stilled long enough to lift his face to the sky where a thick mantle of gray was rolling in to shroud the remaining layers of blue and white. He remained that way – face tilted – for a while, lost in the changing colors of dusk.

Shrill voices yanked Nezumi out of his shallow daze and it took a second and a heartbeat for him to recognize the melodic chanting of children, luring him to a playground occupied only by a small group of kids. Seven of them were walking around, hands joined to form a circle and a boy with tousled brown hair – about twelve or thirteen of age – stood still at the center, a black cloth wrapped around his eyes. 

Nezumi watched them – all innocent faces - but there was something frightening in their eyes. The children seemed to be in the middle of a game – a game Nezumi wasn't familiar with. The words they had been reciting fluttered in the air. The hair-raising way they sung, "Kagome kagome, the bird in the cage. When will you come out? In the evening of the dawn, the crane and turtle slipped. Who stands right behind you now?" sent a chill crawling underneath Nezumi's skin.

The children ceased moving as soon as the song stopped and the boy in the middle said, "Hoshi." 

The girl behind him, who looked eerily familiar, sniggered, said, "Wrong," and raised her hand. The silver tip of the knife she was holding flashed against the faint ray of the sun.

Nezumi felt his blood freeze and all he could do was watch in horror as the boy removed his blindfold, turned around, and yelled, "Safu, no!"

It was a second too late – the knife had already been plunged into the boy's chest – when Nezumi realized who the boy was. Profound terror and agony tore through Nezumi's soul when he saw the tint of blood spreading on the boy's shirt. "Shion!" he screamed just before a thick, dull fog swirled around him.

Nezumi's eyes were greeted with a thin veil of gray mist billowing around him, heart pounding against his chest, beads of sweat trickling down the side of his face. He blinked, waiting for his vision to adjust, body still thrumming from the after effects of the dream – same one he had three nights ago. 

_Shion._

Something was wrong and he had to go back, had to find out for sure. 

It had been eight months – eight months since Nezumi told Shion that he would be fine. Nezumi believed it, knew that it would be safe for Shion to stay in No. 6. But Nezumi had to leave, had to find himself, had to trek farther west to see what this world had left to offer.

 

*

 

His hand trembled when he reached out for the glass of water he always kept on the bedside table. He took a sip to quench the terrifying strain left by the dream, mouth dry, throat hurt from the scream that tore through him.

The light tap on the door startled him, making him flinch, water spilling on his shirt and pajama bottoms. Only when he heard his mom's soft voice saying "Shion? Are you all right?" that he started to relax.

"Yeah, mom. Just a bad dream." Third one this week, actually, but she didn't need to know that.

"Okay." The hesitation in her tone was palpable, as if 'okay' meant otherwise. "Call me if you need anything."

The clock showed it was a quarter before five in the morning and out the window, Shion could see a thin line of pale orange peeking out of the horizon.

His mom was usually up early, making bread and pastries and pies for her bakeshop. Shion felt guilty now for disrupting her work. He ran a hand over his face, vestiges of the dream still clinging on the edges of his mind. 

He didn't know what it meant, why he was falling, falling into a deep tunnel. And Nezumi was there to grab his hand, pull him up, save him, save him like Nezumi had more than once. 

Maybe it was because he had been missing Nezumi, been wishing Nezumi would return soon. Nezumi did promise he would be back for him. 

The usual sounds of the morning started to chirp outside his window. Shion moved out of his bed and dragged his feet to the bathroom. Once his breath tastes like mint and any signs of sleep were off his face, he joined his mom in the kitchen.

"You're up bright and early," Karan said with a cheerful lilt. "You don't have to be at work in at least three hours."

"I thought I'd help you out." Shion grabbed a bowl filled with batter and started swirling the wooden spoon dipped in the mixture.

"You haven't done this in a while." It wasn't an accusation; the hint of teasing caressed every word. And she was right, anyway. Shion had been busy since he got the job teaching at the school where he went to before meeting Nezumi. 

"I know. And I miss it."

Shion left before seven, sun already spreading its arms wide across the sky. He always drove to work in the car he and his mom shared but today, he preferred to walk then take the ferry to the other side of the city. It was a nice, clear day and fresh air would do him good. 

The school was a couple of blocks away from the station and Shion enjoyed the quiet trek, remembering how he used to walk along this path with his childhood friend, Safu.

 _Safu._ How Shion missed her so. He was certain that if she were alive, she would likewise be offered to teach at the institute.

When Shion stepped inside the building, he was greeted with a commotion at the lobby. 

"Shion!" One of his colleagues, Sayuri, rushed to his side, panic clearly written on her face.

Concerned and curious, Shion skipped any formal greeting and asked, "What's going on?"

Sayuri's eyes darted around, as if to check if anyone was nearby to hear them, then she leaned over to whisper, "Another student had been reported missing, second one this week. The Security Bureau now thinks both children may have been kidnapped."

"What?" Shion was hit with a dreadful recollection of his own past, how he was taken by the Security Bureau only to have Nezumi save him and bring him to the West Block while his mom was unmindful of what had transpired. 

 

*

The walls had been completely torn down and a narrow paved road had been built to connect the West Block to the West entrance of No. 6.

Everything looked different but eerily the same at some angle in Nezumi's opinion. Still, he didn't have the heart to tread inside the city so he roamed around the slum area until his feet led him to his old place. He expected it would be cleared out of his belongings, claimed by someone else but he was quite surprised when he saw it was exactly how he left it.

The bookshelves still took up half of the space, books neatly stacked. His bed looked like it had been recently made, floor clean and the table dust-free. He wondered if someone else lived here now.

"Excuse me," a small voice said, startling Nezumi out of his wistful daze. He whipped his head around to see a little girl, the one who often came to see Shion – Karan, Nezumi thought was her name. "Is Shion around?"

Nezumi's eyebrows furrowed, confused. He never liked this girl. She never made sense. "No. Shion doesn't live here anymore."

The girl tilted her head, forehead wrinkling. "But he was just here the other day. He sleeps here sometimes, during the weekend mostly. And he comes once in a while, too."

The revelation threw him off, and Nezumi gaped at her, stunned, for a moment. Then his heart started racing. Shion had kept the place. _Shion._

"Mister?" Karan's voice broke through his musing. "I'm gonna go. Maybe Shion will come back this weekend." She was gone before Nezumi could even think of a catty response.

He felt so detached from this place as though he'd been gone for eight years instead of eight months. His wistful trek led him to the old hotel where Inukashi lived. Nothing had changed much, not that Nezumi expected anything to change in the West Block after the downfall of No. 6. They may have destroyed the Correctional Facility and the main computer, which consequentially deactivated most of the computers that controlled the city. The walls surrounding No. 6 may have fallen down. But Nezumi never assumed it would change anything drastically.

"Well, well. The prodigal son returns." Inukashi was cloaked in the shadowy corner when Nezumi sauntered inside. Nezumi could see him though, could see him draped in the same filthy clothes he wore the last time Nezumi cast a hostile glare upon him. "So what brings you back to this dreadful place?"

Nezumi held her gaze, expression tamed close to unfathomable. "Something's going down in Number Six." He didn't tell Inukashi about the dream, about the children in the playground. The underlying meaning still was a mystery to him.

Inukashi gave a contemptuous snort. "Since when did you give a shit about the city? I thought you were done with it after we've destroyed the Correctional Facility?"

Eyes downcast, Nezumi muttered, "Shion is still there," like Shion was his lifeline that he needed to hold on to. 

There was palpable sympathy in Inukashi's eyes and her shoulders sagged as if defeated. "I'll see what I can find out."

"No." Nezumi pivoted around. "I'll go there myself."

 

*

 

There was this girl in his class – Akina – who has short dark hair that bounces against the back of her neck, eyes filled with eagerness and determination and a profound intelligence. She reminded him of Safu. She was as bright as Safu was, always volunteering to speak in front of the class.

"Thank you, Akina. That was an excellent presentation," Shion told her and asked for her to return to her seat. He glanced at the clock, saw he had five minutes left before he should wrap up his last class for the day. "Do you have any questions?" he asked and was pleased to see his students shake their heads. There wasn't any doubt these twelve and thirteen-year-old kids were able to grasp that day's lesson on the basic principles of ecology. They were, after all, ranked as elite who possessed high level IQ. 

Homework had been given by the time the last period was over. Shion watched the students file out of the room then worked on his daily report as soon as he was alone. Not wanting to dawdle, he left after he had sent the necessary files to Principal Yamada, hoping to get home early so he could help his mom at the bakeshop. 

It was when he got off at the station near Lost Town that he felt this sudden weight of foreboding. He could feel a presence looming over him like an ominous shadow, could feel the grip of someone's gaze. 

When he made a quick survey of the area though, he found nothing suspicious. But the trepidation remained a thick mass in his chest. Shion hurried his steps until he made it home safe. 

Paranoia urged him to look out of his mom's bakeshop window as soon as he stepped inside but only saw regular passers-by, nothing too out-of-place.

"Shion?" 

He spun around, startled, only to find his mom standing by the counter. 

"Something wrong, Shion? You look like you've seen a ghost." Concern undulated on Karan's eyes.

"Yeah, Mom. I just thought I saw someone I know, but." Shion shook the perturbing thoughts out of his mind. "Do you need help with anything?"

Karan's scrutinizing gaze kept him in place, watching him as if he was about to sprout another head. Then her eyes softened. "I just took out a tray of cheese muffins. If you can arrange them in the counter, that will be nice."

"Sure, Mom. I'll just go change." 

Shion's room wasn't that big so it was easy for him to keep it in order, always neat, books and gadgets in the right places, windows closed when he wasn't around. So when he stepped in and found his windows open, curtains billowing against the gentle wind that crept in, his first instinct was to grab something – a hardbound book – and raised it, ready to strike.

There weren't any spaces to hide in his room. The closet was too narrow that even a child as small as Lili wouldn't fit. So when Shion was sure there wasn't any sign of break in, he placed the book back on the small table. 

He had just taken his shirt off when someone spoke behind him. "You're still as thin as a stick, I see."

 _That voice._ Shion's heart began to pound wildly. He whirls around, knees turned weak when his eyes rest on the boy – man who walked out of his life several months ago. "Nezumi."

Nezumi strode over like a thief crawling into Shion's personal space. "And you haven't grown an inch. What have you been doing for the past eight months, eh?"

Shion had always imagined how he would react once he saw Nezumi again, always thought he would be thrilled and _maybe_ , run into Nezumi's arms. But he wasn't feeling any of that. All he felt was a boiling rage inside him and thoughts of _you left me. You. Left me, you,_ kept swirling in his head.

Once Nezumi was standing at arms length, Shion's clenched hand moved on its own accord, swinging a punch right across Nezumi's face. Then Shion took a step back, shocked at his own action. 

"You said you wouldn't be gone long," poured out of Shion's mouth. "It's been eight months."

 

*

 

Nezumi stilled, hand cupping his cheek and eyes narrowing into slits. 

Shion's jaws seemed tight, as if expecting that Nezumi would strike back and Shion was merely holding his ground, waiting. And waiting. And waiting. 

But Nezumi didn't raise a fist. He couldn't. His lips slanted into a sly smirk. "I probably deserve that," he said and it was true. Probably. "You've gotten stronger, I see. That actually hurt."

Something went past Shion's face, a tinge of remorse maybe. Then his shoulders sagged, as if crestfallen. Only then did Nezumi notice the shadows under Shion's eyes and when Shion said, "I've been waiting for you to return. Day and night and day," the tone weighed with melancholy stabbed right through Nezumi's chest.

 _I'm sorry,_ Nezumi wanted to say, words balancing on the tip of his tongue. What came out though was a defensive "I told you that you would be fine."

"But I wasn't." Shion's head dropped, voice slipping to an almost whisper. "I wasn't."

Nezumi took a deep, cleansing breath. The sight before him melted the sheath of ice around his heart. He reached out, hooked a finger under Shion's chin and coaxed Shion to lift his gaze then brushed his lips against Shion's. Lightly. Gently. Lovingly.

Shion wrapped his arms around Nezumi. "Stay."

"I will." Nezumi couldn't tell Shion that he was back because he could sense that something was about to crack the now proverbial wall around No. 6. Or maybe… maybe Shion already knew.

 

*

 

Just as Shion had expected, Nezumi still refused to stay with him in Lost Town. It was, after all, still in the vicinity of No. 6. So Shion lodged alternately between Lost Town and the West District. 

It had been busy at the institute so he hadn't seen Nezumi for days. With the upcoming qualification test for the special track, a handful of elite students decided to stay longer for a group study after their last class had ended. 

Shion saw it fit to stick around in case the students would need help. Akina, the girl who looked like Safu, often consulted him about certain topics in Ecology as well as in Biology.

It was near sundown when Shion left the institute. He drove off, taking the shortest route leading to the west road so he could go straight to Nezumi's place.

Several blocks away from the institute, Shion spotted three of his students – Akina being one of them – strutting down the paved street. He slowed down, waved at them and hollered, "Careful on your home, kids!" before heading further down the road.

Nothing much had changed in the West Block even after what Shion referred to as the 'meltdown' of No. 6. The district still looked neglected, its residents still poverty-stricken. Only difference Shion noticed was that the people here no longer lived in fear – fear of man hunt or the other horrors that the former government of No. 6 had carried out in the past.

Nezumi wasn't home, which wasn't usual. He was always gone, sometimes would creep inside the room at the crack of dawn.

So Shion didn't bother to wait up. He had dinner, read a few pages of 'Pride and Prejudice' then snuggled under the covers. He was too tired that he was soon engulfed in a deep sleep.

A loud scream pierced through the thick night air and Shion's name reverberated like a distant siren. The face of a child – a girl – warped before Shion, fading into mist.

Shion jerked awake, the remnants of the dream still held on at the surface of his mind. The warm body pressed on his back reminded him where he was, that he wasn't alone. 

Nezumi grunted in his sleep and he shifted, snuggling closer to Shion, fringe of blue hair falling over his eyes, breath warm against the side of Shion's neck. Shion watched him for a while, eyes tracing Nezumi's beautifully sculpted face. Gradually, Nezumi's soft, even breathing lulls Shion back to sleep.

 

*

 

The smell of mold and rotten flesh permeated across the stuffy atmosphere of the cave. Nezumi breathed through his mouth instead of his nose. This was the last place he wanted to be, but he needed answers and there was one person who knew more about the secrets buried in No. 6.

The elder looked weary, hair silver more than gray, the lines on his face had increased since the last time Nezumi laid eyes on him. "It seems the evil that lays dormant beneath Number Six is beginning to stir," he said, gaze gripping Nezumi's as if he required Nezumi's full attention. "And I believe the missing children are the link to this mystery."

Nezumi didn't come here for riddles, only sought for a more rational explanation to the disappearance of a few elite children. It shouldn't be his concern, really. But he had a feeling that this was somehow connected to the dreams that had been haunting him for the past months.

"The Security Bureau is clueless. The sole information they have is that most of these children attend the same institute," Nezumi narrated the exact information Inukashi had provided.

"An elite. Hmm." The elder fell into a contemplative silence once more. This dilemma seemed to throw him off balance. He used to hold full knowledge of No. 6, always had hidden data to help destroy the monster he had helped create. But now….

"It couldn't be," the elder said after what seemed to be a long stretch of the hour. He snapped his fingers and one of his companions handed him a microchip. "There's a machine," he started to explain, handing Nezumi the microchip. "It was built as a back up system, in case the main one breaks down. It hasn't been activated since." 

The elder didn't say anything more, just gave a nod to his companions and the wooden raft where he sat was carried away.

Nezumi stared at the microchip sitting on his palm. "Wait. What does the machine have anything to do with the missing children?" 

The elder raised a hand and the men carrying him halted. "The answers you seek are in that microchip." Then he made a gesture for the men carrying him to continue and they all disappeared beyond the curtain of darkness.

 

*

 

When Shion woke up that morning, Nezumi was already gone. He wondered whether feeling Nezumi's body beside him was just a dream. He was certain it wasn't because he basked in the comfort of Nezumi's arm around him when Shion woke up in the early hours before sunrise. 

The sun had barely taken its rightful place in the sky when he drove to the city. There was an eerie silence that draped over the campus when Shion arrived at the institute. It was still early, so the place being nearly empty didn't come off as peculiar. 

Sayuri was the first one he ran into when he sauntered inside the building. She had this look of horror in her face, shoulders held stiffly and she kept wringing her fingers.

"What is it?" Shion asked though he had a feeling he already knew the answer. This was like déjà vu, the scenario pretty similar to last week except the lobby was void of students.

"There's uh… another child had been taken, Shion," she said with a crack in her voice. "It's the girl from your class."

Shion's heart dropped. This was the third one. "Who?"

"Akina."

 

* 

Rikiga was the last person Nezumi wanted to see. But he was the only one who could possibly crack or decode whatever shit was in the microchip that the elder gave him.

"I still don't see why this concerns you," Rikiga said. "It’s nothing more but a blue print of a machine they built to run the city without needing the network of computers blah, blah, blah. I don't even understand these technical details"

 _I'm not surprised._ Nezumi fought not to roll his eyes. "But the elder said it was supposed to work as a back up.""

"That's not what it says here." Rikiga's eyes were glued to the computer screen, fingers flying over the keyboard. "According to this, it was never activated because— Oh, shit."

Nezumi peered over Rikiga's shoulder to see what the old man had discovered. It was a clear illustration of how the machine would work. "No wonder it was never activated.

"Whoever invented this thing is sick." Rikiga leaned away from his desk and pinched the bridge of his nose. 

"The elder said something about the evil that lays dormant beneath Number Six is beginning to stir. Could he been referring to this machine?"

"I don't know, Nezumi. Why didn't you ask him?"

"He pisses me off with all the riddles spilling from his mouth." 

"I don't think he meant the machine though. Could've been something figurative."

The crease on Nezumi's forehead deepens. "How do you know?"

"Because data shows the machine isn't located within the city. They kept it hidden outside Number Six."

"Where exactly?"

"It doesn't say here. It's not in the West Block, that's for sure. Or I would've heard of it."

There was something else, something the elder left unsaid. He wanted Nezumi to find out about this. For what reason, Nezumi didn't know. It was as if he was given a piece among a thousand pieces of puzzles that he had to solve.

 

*

 

Three Security Bureau officials hovered around him like he was some criminal. Their unwavering gazes made Shion want to melt in his seat.

This pointless interrogation had been going on for about an hour now. The authorities had practically asked the same questions thrice already. 

"No, I didn't see where they went," he said, exasperatedly. "I just drove by, waved at them and went ahead."

"Where were you at about ten thirty last night?" one of the men asked, for the fourth time now.

It was a feat not to release a frustrated sigh when Shion said, "I told you, I went home."

"We just sent someone to check with your neighbors and they said they didn't see you come home last night."

"That's because I didn't spend the night in Lost Town. I was at the West Block."

"Is there anyone who can testify you were there?"

Shion parted his lips, _yes_ brimmed on his lips, but then he wasn't even sure if Nezumi did come home last night, if he did feel Nezumi beside him or if it was just a dream.

"Shion?"

"Yes." Shion met the authority's eyes head on, unblinking. "Nezumi. The person I live with."

The authority scrutinized him for an excruciating stretch of a minute before he cleared his throat and said, "Very well. We'll check with this Nezumi. I guess an apology is called for. This is the fifth disappearance and anyone in contact with the children could be considered a suspect."

"I understand." It was a lie because truth was, Shion would never understand how the system worked. He thought they had been successful in eliminating what Nezumi claimed as parasites in the government of No. 6. But it seemed some strains of the judicial virus had been left feeding off the weaknesses of the citizens.

Because of the incident, all classes ended earlier than usual and the students were either escorted home by mentors or picked up by their parents. 

Shion was supposed to spend the night at home but his head was still reeling with unsettling thoughts. He didn't want to worry his mom any more than necessary. So he just dropped the car off and told her he was taking the public transport to the West Block. That was one of the few things that improved after they had set No. 6 free. The connection between the west, east, and south districts via public transport had been implemented.

From the public transport station, Shion had to walk a couple of kilometers before he reached the desolate ruins. He caught the whiff of something that smells delicious when trudging along the empty hallway.

 _Nezumi's home!_ Shion rushed inside the apartment, heart stuttering, and found Nezumi hunched over the small stove, stirring something in the pot.

"You're home!" Shion exclaimed and had to restrain from throwing himself at Nezumi.

"Yeah." Nezumi beamed at him, smile soft and heartwarming. "And you're just in time. Dinner is almost ready."

 

*

 

Something was bothering Shion and he could feel it as if their minds and hearts were linked. But Nezumi didn't pry, just waited for Shion to talk. 

They were lying next to each other, Nezumi about to doze off, when Shion said, "I'm worried, Nezumi."

"Hm?" was all Nezumi offered in response, thought it was enough to coax Shion to go on.

"There have been three children missing at the institute I work for," Shion began and the slight pause was the kind Shion often made whenever he was about to ramble. "Not only that, we heard there were two other kids from a higher education facility who likewise disappeared within the last two weeks. The Bureau claims they have no leads to these children's whereabouts but that's impossible. It's not like Number Six is vast. Worse is the authorities had marked us, the mentors, as suspects."

Though the news wasn't alien to Nezumi and he shouldn't really be surprised with the mentors-tagged-as-suspects part but his head still snapped to face Shion. "What? How could they think that?"

"They say it's because the mentors are the ones these children have last interacted with."

"I think they're just making excuses to cover up the fact that they don't really know who is behind these disappearances," Nezumi said. 

"You may be right."

"I see nothing has changed in Number Six. The system still sucks." Nezumi shifted so he could lie on his side and face Shion. He traced the shape of Shion's nose with his finger. "Shion?"

Shion twisted his head and when his eyes met Nezumi's, something stirred in Nezumi's chest that he had to swallow before saying, "Did you miss me?"

The corner of Shion's mouth curled up and he brought his hand up to Nezumi's head, brushed away the lock of hair that fell over Nezumi's eyes. "Of course I did." Then Shion's lips was on Nezumi's, lingering longer than the chaste kisses they had shared in the past. It wasn't a goodnight kiss, not even a farewell kiss. It was more like _I'm here. With you. Always._

 

*

 

It felt like there was a foreboding cloud hovering above him since that morning and Shion couldn't fight the paranoia creeping in. He felt he was being watched, being followed. But every time his eyes would sweep around to check, he found nothing out of sorts.

Few students went to school that day. Most parents feared for their children's safety. Shion couldn't blame them, would do the same if he had a child of his own. He was worried most about Akina, wondered if she was fine. He just hoped that history wasn't repeating itself, recalling the dilemma he went through when Safu was abducted. 

There must be something he could do to help. The Bureau didn't seem to be doing their jobs. Three weeks and no lead. That was near impossible.

Or maybe. Maybe Nezumi was right, that this was another conspiracy and that the Bureau was involved somehow. Shion no longer hold the same loyalty over the city, so he entertained the consequential possibility.

After school, he decided to pay Akina's mother a visit. Maybe she would know the status of the investigation. Shion knew that dipping his head in a situation like this would get him into serious trouble. But he had to know, else, he'd lose his sanity.

The ten-minute ferry ride to Chronos felt like hours. The anxiety was thrumming in Shion's veins. A lot seemed to have changed in this area, once his home but now it felt more like an outside world. 

It didn't take long for Shion to find Akina's house. He was greeted by Akina's mother, who looked young in her late thirties, without a trace of gray hair. She had the same bright hazel eyes as Akina, dark brown hair tied in a neat bun. 

"The authorities had only been here twice," she said once they were comfortably seated in the living room with a cup of tea in hand.

"Twice?" 

"Yes. The night she didn't come home and the morning after to ask a few questions." The cup in her hand began to quiver. She settled it on the table, the light brown liquid spilling on the wooden surface.

This wasn't news to Shion. He knew the Bureau following protocol was far from reality. He reached out, rested a hand on her trembling ones and said, "Don't worry. I'm sure they'll find her soon." If only Shion could believe his own words, but that was the only way he knew how to console her. 

He left Akina's house with a heavier heart.

Dark clouds began to roll in when he got off the station. There wasn't any storm warning so Shion presumed that was nothing but rain clouds that would least likely bring any drizzle over the city. 

His thoughts wandered back to Akina's mother, to Akina herself, to the missing children, unmindful of the vehicle trailing him. He was a block away from Lost Town when the car made a sudden stop, startling Shion out of his contemplative daze. 

Two men got out, both garbed in the same dark outfit that Bureau officials wore. 

It took a while before the alarm bells in Shion's head went off and one of the men was already saying, "Shion? We need you to come with us," then he grabbed Shion none-too-gently by the arm.

Panicked, he asked, "Wait. What's this about?" while trying to resist but the man yanked him towards the car with such force that Shion almost tripped, and the other man pressed something cold against the side of Shion's neck. The last thing Shion felt was the electrifying chill surging down his spine then the world around him was suddenly cloaked in darkness.

 

*

 

Nezumi never had any visitors, except for the kids living a couple of blocks away who came to see Shion but even that was occasional. Rikiga and Inukashi didn't count since they only came whenever it was of utmost importance.

So when he heard a light, timid knock, Nezumi had to stand by the door for several dubious seconds. When he thought that the chances of getting slaughtered upon opening the door was less than eighty percent, he finally swallowed the thick lump of wariness and checked to see who it was. 

To say he was stupefied would be an understatement. Karan stood diffidently at the hallway, looking somewhat forlorn.

"Hello Nezumi," she said, sounding strangely unsure. "Is Shion here?"

Nezumi could feel the creases forming on his forehead. "No. Didn't he stay at your house last night?" 

Karan shook her head. "I know he planned to. But he never came home from work. I thought he came straight here, but I got a visit from his colleague just moments ago and she said Shion didn't show up at the institute either."

 _That's strange._ Nezumi was hit with the sense of courtesy and invited Karan inside. "How did you know where I live?"

A small smile slid on her lips. "I come here with Shion sometimes, help him clean up."

The mere mention of Shion's name reminded Nezumi of the current predicament. It wasn't like Shion not to show up either at his mom's place or Nezumi's. There was no other place he could spend the night. Except.

"When was the last time you saw Shion?" he asked Karan.

"Yesterday morning. He came by the house to change before heading to work like he always did whenever he spends the night with you." A flash of unease surfaced in Karan's eyes. "I'm worried that something might have happened to him. I know he was awfully concerned over the missing children lately."

"I'll go look for him," Nezumi promised and as soon as Karan left, he made his way to the old hotel. 

Inukashi was out near the pond, feeding the dogs. Nezumi was greeted with a derisive huff but he ignored the less-than-congenial reception and asked, "Did you happen to see Shion?" not wanting to beat around the bush.

"Why should I? He doesn't work for me anymore, does he now?" was the catty response that Inukashi barfed and he got up on his feet but didn't move from his spot.

Nezumi regarded him skeptically then and when he found no trace of deception, he turned on his heel and started to leave. There was no point staying for a pointless conversation. He had to find Shion. 

"Wait." There was a telltale sign of desperate curiosity in Inukashi's voice. "Why are you looking for Shion? Isn't he supposed to be with you?"

Nezumi didn't turn, didn't even move to face Inukashi. "If he was, then I wouldn't be looking for him now, would I?"

"If you're going to be sarcastic, suit yourself. Don't come seeking help in my territory," Inukashi said, obviously hiding her frustration in a bored tone.

In a selfish perspective, Nezumi found no need to share his worries but if his hunch was correct, then he might need Inukashi somewhere along the way. So he told her about Karan's visit, that Shion didn't spend the night at his mother's or at Nezumi's. "I don't know why but somehow, I have this uncomfortable gut feeling that Shion may be in danger or… I don't know, Inukashi." Trouble, after all, was Shion's twin.

"Maybe he spent the night at a friend or a colleague's place."

"Nah. I doubt that."

Shion wouldn't do anything to worry his mom. He wouldn't. Besides, his mom did say that a colleague from work came over looking for Shion which made Inukashi's theory almost improbable.

Inukashi gave an exasperated sigh, shoulders drooping, eyebrows tight, and his gaze falling on the floor. "All right. I'll send out a couple of dogs and see what I can find."

There was only one thing left for Nezumi to do. "I'm going inside the city."

 

*

 

Cold. Damp. Dark. 

These were the first things that Shion noticed when he slowly crept out of his subconscious state. The smell of mold was so strong that it made breathing painfully difficult. 

It took a while before his eyes adjusted to the dimness that engulfed him. The faint beam of light sneaking through the barred pane on the door was the only source of light. 

The low hum of voices reached his ears, growing louder every second. Shion blindly felt around until his hand touched the icy surface of the concrete wall. 

Before he could reach the door though, it swung open and the silhouette of a heavyset man stood menacingly at the threshold. "I see you're awake," the man said in a throaty baritone that grated on Shion's skin.

Soft click reverberated in the room followed by a radiant light flooding the small space. Shion had to blink desperately several times, trying to get used to the brightness. Only when he was able to see properly that he noticed the man was carrying a tray. He settled it on the floor, said, "Enjoy your dinner," and then shut the door close without giving Shion a chance to speak.

 _Dinner?_ How long had he been out anyway? His mouth felt dry and his throat felt like he had swallowed a sack full of burning coals. 

It was a bit dark that he couldn't see what was on the tray but if his sense of smell wasn't betraying him, he could make a wild guess that it was mushroom soup. _With croutons, how quaint._

 _Beggars can't be choosers._ He was famished. His stomach felt so hollow as if his entrails had been scooped out entirely. 

The soup was warm at least, though it could use a bit of salt. When Shion was certain there wasn't any weird ingredients thrown in his not-so-copious meal, he gobbled it up like a starving animal, ignoring the tightness in his throat.

Once he had satisfied his belly with enough contents to digest, Shion huddled in the nearest wall and for the first time since his mind decided to bring him back to the world of conscious thoughts, he wondered where he was, why he was here and who took him. 

 

*

 

The wind blew past his face bringing with it a stench close to blood or rust or melted iron. Nezumi couldn't really distinguish what it was but the smell was too sharp he could taste it on his tongue. He stood on top of the hillock, eyes traveling as far as the empty expanse of the North District. Below him – several yards from where the high walls of No. 6 used to be – sat a derelict playground with swings and slide and everything else covered in rust. The vast city of No. 6 loomed behind him like some promise land compared to the barren wasteland that stretched for miles northward. 

A threat vibrated in the air. Or maybe it was just Nezumi's misplaced imagination. But something lured him to this place – voices singing a song similar to the one he heard four years ago, one of Elyurias. There was a distinct difference, something that Nezumi couldn't put his fingers on. 

The distant sound of an engine thrumming somewhere behind him prompted Nezumi to look over his shoulders and saw Rikiga's car winding down an unpaved path. He wondered how the old man found him but as the vehicle drew closer he found the answer. Inukashi was at the passenger seat and two of her mutts were at the back. Rikiga forehead was creased, clearly displeased, perhaps over his traveling companions.

The car stopped right at the bottom of the hillock. The two dogs hopped out of the back seat and bounded up to Nezumi. Behind them, Inukashi and Rikiga climbed up the slope.

"How did you find me?" he asked although Nezumi might know the answer to that as soon as the dogs started sniffing on his legs.

"The dogs," was Inukashi's offhanded response. 

Rikiga took the last few steps to reach Nezumi's side, panting, hand resting on his chest when he said, "Going on a hunt without us now, eh, Nezumi?" 

"I had no plans of coming here. I was on my way to the institute where Shion works," Nezumi said in defense. "It's just that," he added, dragging his eyes back to the ruins, "…something brought me here."

"Something?" Inukashi's tone bordered between skeptical and curious. But then again, that was how Inukashi often spoke.

Nezumi had no desire to explain but he knew his companions would only subject him into an endless interrogation if he didn't. "A voice. I heard a voice singing some song, similar to the one I heard from Elyurias eight months ago. This time though I didn't feel like my heart was being crushed and my head didn't feel like it was about to explode. This time, I felt a tug in my soul and the next thing I knew, I was here."

"I hope this doesn't mean that history is repeating itself," Rikiga said, wistfully looking out into the sea of nothing but dry ground. Nezumi doubted there was any connection at all. If there were still citizens that remained loyal to the tyranny that once grasped this region, then Nezumi could only presume they wouldn't try the same thing twice. Could there be a new conspiracy rising within No. 6? Or was this, as Nezumi had feared, an isolated case?

Nezumi moved his eyes down to the playground when he heard the dogs yelp, watched the animals circle around the child-size, decrepit slide until curiosity enticed Nezumi to amble to the spot. "What's wrong with them?" he asked as soon as Inukashi caught up and went straight to his mutts. 

"I don't know." Inukashi crouched over to the ground where the dogs had been pawing. "Nezumi, Look!" he exclaimed, beckoning frantically with his arm.

There was a cloth stuck near the ladder, a red bandana and on the corner, the name 'Akina' was embroidered. 

"Akina. Akina. Now why does the name sound familiar?" Inukashi muttered. Then something sparked in her eyes, as if the proverbial light bulb in his head lit up. "Of course. That name was on the list of missing children. That was why I came looking for you, Nezumi. I just got word from my contact who works at the Security Bureau."

 

*

 

Time no longer mattered to Shion. He had no way of telling how long it took before he could see or feel any signs of living being within the perimeter of his lonely prison. 

The single, most reliable means of determining the hour of the day was when his meal was served and his twenty-four-hour 'babysitter' announced whether it was Shion's breakfast or lunch or supper.

In this case, it was lunch. Shion held onto the hope of striking a conversation with his captor so he feigned delight upon seeing the contents of the tray and said, "Ooh, mushroom soup. My favorite!" while completely disregarding the queasiness already rumbling in his belly. "What is this place anyway?" he asked, hoping he sounded casual.

The man just grunted in response. 

"Must be some mysterious dungeon in No. 6, eh?" Shion tried again but the hostile glare he got made him clamp his mouth shut. 

"You'll find out soon enough." With that, the man slammed the door shut.

Shion waited until the man was gone and the hallway was void of any noise. When he was certain that he was alone once more, he moved the cot and pulled off the steel cover on the floor. He discovered it this morning when a fair amount of light came pouring through the bars on the door. 

There seemed to be a considerable space in the hole, just enough for him to slip through it. He had no idea where it led to, presumed that the duct would lead him outside the building. It was a far better idea than sitting around, waiting for his captors to realize that they didn't have any need for him and dump his dead body somewhere where wild animals can feast on.

 _No thank you._ He'd been through hell with Nezumi before, believed he certainly possessed the capability to escape or he would die trying.

It was like a claustrophobic maze and Shion struggled to slither through the gap until he came across some sort of intersection where he would need to choose to go either left or right or forward. 

Leaving his choice to fate, he turned right then a few yards further he heard noises. Quietly, he slid past the metal cover but froze when he heard one of them say, "That Akina girl is running a very high fever and her heart is failing. If we don't remove her soon, she might die."

A soft gasp escaped Shion's mouth. 

"Fine then. Unhook her from the machine until she recovers. Meanwhile, we could use that teenage mentor to take her place," another said, voice low with an intimidating drawl.

"You mean Shion?"

"Yes. He's also an elite, was classed rank A, at least according to his records. He should do well. In fact, his brain may do wonders that we might not need the other children anymore."

 _Children?_ Shion felt his heart surged up his throat. _Oh no. Are they talking about the missing children?_

"Is that why you had him kidnapped in the first place?"

"No. I asked you to bring him here because he was a menace, sticking his nose where it didn't belong. There were rumors that he was one of those responsible for the destruction of the correctional facility eight months ago so I wouldn't underestimate him. But now, we have better use for him. Attend to the child. Then bring Shion to me."

Shion had to get out of there. Fast. But _no._ If the children were here, if they were holding Akina somewhere in the building, Shion couldn't just leave them. He had to go back. 

It proved difficult since he had to crawl backwards until he came upon the intersection once more. But he managed to find his way back to his holding cell before someone came by to get him.

 

*

There was a building, an old factory it seemed, hidden between walls of rock around two miles north of No. 6. This was where the dogs led them. 

"Shouldn't we have a plan before bursting inside?" Inukashi asked and Nezumi agreed it was the logical thing to do but they knew nothing about the facility, knew no one in the building and they had no clue what its purpose was in the first place.

"You can use the dogs to distract the guards at the side entrance over there." Nezumi pointed straight at the double doors at the side of the building. "Then we break in."

Inukashi huffed, said, "Right. And we don't know if there are more armed men inside," then whispered something to the mutts.

The dogs took off but didn't head straight to where three men stood guard at the entrance.

"Where are they going?" Nezumi asked.

"I asked them to find us a safer way in."

It didn't take long before the dogs returned and they followed the animals straight to a sewerage opening about fifty yards from the back of the building. 

The stench of garbage and moldy water greeted Nezumi's nose when they pried the bars open. "And this is a better way?"

Inukashi shrugged. "Beats getting shot because of the lack of stealth." She crept into the large pipe, leaving Nezumi and Rikiga with no choice but to follow.

The stench and the rats occasionally running past their feet didn't bother Nezumi. It was the fact they were blindly stumbling into an unknown territory that kept his head reeling. 

They didn't even know what to find here, just trusting the instinct of two animals that used their sense of smell to track down the scent that clung to the bandana they found. How can they even do that over the foul stench that invaded their noses was beyond Nezumi.

Besides, exactly what would a child do in a place like this? But then again, if that child had been abducted, this would be a perfect place to hide her. 

 

*

 

Shion felt like he was an accused criminal waiting for the verdict. He knew someone would come to take him away, take him to where they were possibly holding the children. But minutes turned into hours and the waiting became unbearable.

The sound of heavy footsteps alerted him that someone was coming, probably the man who brought him his meals since, if Shion's calculation was correct, it was dinner time.

The door swung open to reveal not just the same man he'd been seeing since he got here but there were three others, one of them garbed in a long white lab coat, similar to a doctor's.

"You're coming with us," one of the armed men said then grabbed Shion by the arm and dragged him outside.

The elevator that took them to the higher level whirred but the sound wasn't enough to slice through the thick blanket of silence. No one uttered a word and Shion could hear his own breathing echoing in the small space. The wordless exchange between the men surrounding Shion triggered an immeasurable apprehension that caused his heart to hammer fiercely against his ribcage. 

They stepped out of the lift and into a brightly lit hallway. Men and women garbed in blue and white uniforms, some wearing lab coats, littered the corridors. 

Shion was taken to a large room, the walls lined with computer panels and monitor screens. 

"It's about time." A man with large glasses, messy brown hair falling over his otherwise clean shaven face, stepped up to them. "Welcome Shion. My name is Doctor Kumori. And I'm here to make sure you get the honor of taking part in the revival of Number Six."

 _Revival of what?_ Shion wasn't sure what the man meant but his initial reaction was "but Number Six doesn't need revival. It's fine as it is."

Dr. Kumori broke into a condescending laughter, shoulders shaking, chest jouncing. "Not after what you did to defile it."

Shion's eyes widened and he donned an innocent mask. "What do you mean?"

"You don't think I know, do you? The city and its citizens were under strict control of the government so that it would be the utopia everyone so deserved. But you and your friends had to come destroy our hope for a better world. So now, we will fix what you've ruined."

Rage started to boil deep in Shion's gut. He remembered what the authorities did with Safu and countless others just so they could see their experiment through, had tried to reincarnate Elyurias using a human host at the cost of the citizen's life. He should know, he was a survivor of this abomination. 

It was a feat to keep Shion's voice steady when he asked, "What does it have to do with me?"

"Let me show you." Dr. Kumori strode over to the panel, pressed a button and the shutters on one wall slid open to reveal a glass window. Beyond it was a sunken room with a round machine in the middle. What made Shion's innards turn violently was the sight of five gurneys around the machine – four of them held children with their heads cracked open and wires from the machine were attached directly to their brains.

"Such a pretty sight, isn't it?" Dr. Kumori said with a poisonous lilt. "This machine was built along with the creation of Number Six. It was supposed to control the entire city but the scientists assigned on the project all agreed not to activate it." The doctor's hand moved up to the panel and pressed a series of buttons. The children's faces appeared on the screen before them. 

"You see," the doctor went on explaining with a wave of his hand, "for this machine to work, it needs to be hooked on a human brain, one with exceptional intellect. When we decided to bring this project out of the box, we all agreed that the best candidate – or in this case, candidates – to make the machine work were children belonging to the elite class."

"This is sick." Shion clenched his hands, fists digging on his hips. "You are sick!" Shion made to launch at the doctor, wanting to throttle the man but his arms were grabbed by the armed men behind him.

"Now, now, Shion." The doctor leered at him but Shion wasn't fazed. "You should be proud because I chose you to replace one of the children whom we had no choice but to pull out because of… well, side effects."

 _Akina!_ "What did you do to her? Where's Akina?"

Dr. Kumori raised an eyebrow. "So. You do know the child after all. A student of yours if I'm not mistaken?"

"Where is she?" The words scraped against Shion's throat when he screamed. "Where is she?"

"She's none of your concern now." Dr. Kumori's gaze skipped to the armed men still holding Shion. "Get him to the operating room. We shall begin with the procedure soon."

Shion struggled with all the strength he could muster but the men were stronger and he was dragged straight to a room, strapped into an operating table and all he could do was send a desperate thought, hoping that by some miracle, Nezumi would hear him.

_Nezumi. Help me. Save me._

 

*

Nezumi was in the process of tying the knot on the rope he just wrapped around the three guards they managed to knock unconscious when he felt the stab somewhere at the back of his mind.

 _Shion._ He could swear he just heard Shion's voice calling him, asking for his help.

"What's the matter, Nezumi?" Inukashi's voice yanked Nezumi out of his stupor.

With a shake of his head, Nezumi said, "Nothing. I thought I heard Shion." 

"Do you think he's also here in the building?" Rikiga asked, the hand clutching the gun he snatched from one of the guards trembled.

"Maybe." Nezumi heard it again, this time though, it was as if the sound guided him to where he needed to go. "This way," he said, gesturing for Inukashi and Rikiga to follow him. They left the dogs in the room where they snuck in.

"How do you know this is the right way?" Inukashi sounded skeptic, but she followed Nezumi nonetheless.

Nezumi didn't bother explaining it. He didn't even know what it was, just that he felt the sharp tug and let his instincts take the lead. 

They encountered a handful of other guards before they found a hidden flight of stairs that led to the level where Nezumi could feel Shion's presence the strongest. _He's here. Shion's here, I just know it._

When they burst through another door, armed men lingering along the hallway started firing at them. Bullets went past Nezumi's head before he could duck in an alcove with Inukashi and Rikiga. 

"Go." Inukashi said. "We'll cover you."

With a nod, Nezumi took off, leaping to kick a man's hand, effectively disarming him. He snatched the weapon and began sending bullets to anyone who got in his way. He was almost at the end of the hallway when he heard it – the scream so loud and bloodcurdling that it sent a surge of fright ripping through his skin. 

"Shion!" He no longer cared about stealth. He had to find Shion. He slammed against a door from where he was certain the scream emanated and found Shion strapped on a metal table, two men and a woman wearing lab coats surrounded him.

"Nezumi! Get me out of here!"

Shutting the door behind him, Nezumi ordered the men and woman to step into what looked like a storage closet then locked them inside. He removed the straps that held down Shion and asked, "Are you all right? Did they hurt you?"

"No." Shion rubbed his wrist. "I wouldn't remain still long enough for them to administer anesthetic so they threatened to cut my head open without it." It was then Nezumi took notice of the drop of blood leaking out of a small cut on Shion's forehead. 

Nezumi rummaged through the table and found a roll of bandage. "Here." He wrapped it gently around Shion's head. "We have to go."

"Wait." Shion's hand curled around Nezumi's arm. "What are you doing here? How did you find me?"

An explanation was in order but they had little time to spare so Nezumi made a quick narration about how Inukashi's dog found a bandana with Akina's name embroidered on the corner then led them here. "I sort of felt you calling for me. That's what led me to this part of the building."

"Akina! She's here, Nezumi. Along with the other children who had been reported missing." Shion gave a brief account on what he had witnessed and Nezumi could feel his jaw drop.

The noise that sounded like an intruder alarm startled Nezumi out of his momentary shock. He shouldn't give a shit but he found himself acquiescing when Shion asked for his help to save the children. "Let's go."

People rushed across the hallway, the noises they made blended with the resounding wail of the distress signal. 

Shion led the way to the laboratory with Nezumi crippling anyone who dared stop them by shooting them on their legs. Shion didn't say a word, didn't chastise him.

When they stormed inside the large room, there were few people left inside, most were unarmed and Nezumi was forced to take out two men who aimed their weapons at Shion before they could even press the trigger.

"Doctor Kumori isn't here," Shion said, crouching to snatch the gun from one of the fallen men. He aimed it at some random guy and never had Nezumi heard Shion so threatening when he said, "Where is he? Where's Doctor Kumori?"

The guy visibly shivered and stuttered, "A-at the m-ma-main lab. E-experiment room." 

There was fire in Shion's eyes. "How do you get in there?" When the guy didn’t respond, Shion said, "How. Do you. Get. In there?" in a raised, piercing voice, fingers curling on the trigger.

The man's trembling hand gestured at a panel on the wall. 

"Get out of here." It was flat, void of emotions but frightening all the same. When no one moved, not even flinched, Shion shouted, "Get out here. All of you!"

The occupants of the room scampered toward the door, Nezumi standing in the corner to make sure no one would try anything funny.

The panel turned out to be a door that led down a secret passage. Underneath was an equally large room and Nezumi knew from the first glance that the large machine that occupied the center was the one Shion mentioned earlier. It looked similar to the blue prints that he and Rikiga saw from the microchip the elder gave him weeks ago. 

_Of course!_ Nezumi recalled reading the data and learned that this machine was never activated because it required a human brain to operate. 

A brown-haired man emerged from the shadowy corner and stared at them with a sinister glint on his eyes. He held a small gadget in his hand. "One wrong move and I pull off the plug," the man said. 

"Game's over Doctor Komori. You might as well give up." Shion held his head high, shoulders tight. Nezumi could only guess the experience at the correctional facility still clung to Shion. 

The doctor gave a shuddering laugh. "You see, Shion, when I press this button, it will turn the machine off and that will certainly not bode well to these children. Their brains are now connected to the machine. You turn it off, they die. You try to unhook them, they die as well."

Shion raised his arm, pointed the blasted gun straight at the doctor. "Give me the remote," he demanded but that wasn't enough to deter the doctor. "Give it to me!" 

Dr. Kumori simply shook his head, his thumb moving over the button. 

Nezumi saw Shion's finger move but Nezumi had a quicker reflex and he shot the doctor right through the head before Shion could even pull the trigger.

The doctor fell on the ground with a thud, blood spilling out of the hole on his forehead. 

"You should've let me kill him." The impassiveness that seeped through every word made it sound like they didn't tumble out of Shion's mouth.

"No Shion. You killed once. For me. And that was enough." Nezumi knew it was impossible for Shion to regain his old self – the Shion that Nezumi knew before No. 6's downfall. But he would never stop hoping.

"He said the children would die if we unhook them." Shion gazed down at the innocent faces, eyes no longer clouded with fury.

"We have to get some neurosurgeons to remove them."

"I'll send the dogs to get help." Inukashi was standing at the bottom step of the stairs, eyes wide and staring inconspicuously at the immobile bodies.

"Come, Nezumi." Shion held out his hand, which Nezumi took without hesitation. "Let's go find Akina."

 

*

 

It had been a month since the incident at the North District and the memory of it still haunted Shion in his dreams.

They didn't find Akina at the lab, nor any trace of her. Two days later, he was told they found the child's body in the swamp, three kilometers from the facility.

Shion felt like his soul was torn into pieces when he saw Akina's mother break down upon hearing the news.

It was Shion's choice not to return to the institute. He didn't even go home to Lost Town until recently. His mother didn't say a word about it. Her silence could only mean she understood.

Shion was more at peace in the West Block, with Nezumi by his side. Nezumi had been his rock, his support system. Slowly, Shion's wounds from the horrible experience healed.

Rikiga encouraged Shion to try his hand at writing. The man decided to revive the Latch Bill newspaper, holding office at the heart of the West Block and thought he could use Shion's intelligence to run it.

The quiet hum of the night provided a perfect atmosphere for Shion to try and string words together, maybe write an essay about life in the district.

He brought out the laptop that Rikiga had generously provided, turned it on and watched the screen flicker. The stimuli in his brain though coaxed him to recapture the unsettling episode at the facility that Shion had to tear his fingers away from the keyboard and stare at the cursor blinking on a blank page.

A minute must have passed. Maybe a couple. Maybe ten. But Shion only snapped out of his trance when a new window popped open and black background spread across the monitor, the words _'Hello, Teacher Shion'_ appeared.

Shion stared for a moment, flummoxed, before his fingers danced on the keys and typed _'Who are you?'_

It took a while for the response to come but when it did, Shion couldn't help but gape at the words 'It's Akina, don't you remember me?' with a slack jaw.

The first thought that landed into his befuddled brain was _oh shit_ but then Shion realized the possibility that this could be a hoax – a sick practical joke – so he quickly typed _'That's impossible. Akina's dead.'_

The words _'My body is but my brain is very much alive'_ rolled onto the screen and the idea seized at Shion's heart. _What if…?_

 _'My body was failing but Dr. Kumori didn't want my brain to go to waste so he kept me hooked into the machine'_ were displayed next.

 _But._ Shion couldn't believe he was falling for this. _'But the machine was destroyed before it can even completely boot.'_

_'The machine was already working, though not connected yet to the city's network. But since it was only my brain that was hooked into it, without a body to anchor me, I managed to infiltrate the main operating system, clung there until I could find an open network.'_

The only reaction Shion could offer was _'Why?'_

_'So that I could find you, thank you for all your help and maybe say goodbye to my mom.'_

Shion nearly jumped when the door opened and Nezumi held him with a curious gaze. "You look like you've seen a ghost," Nezumi said, lips curving into a small smile.

"I think I just did." Shion recounted what had just happened as concisely as he could.

Nezumi studied the chat window with no trace of skepticism in his expression.

 _'I have to go, Teacher'_ appeared before Shion could ask for Nezumi's opinion.

_'Wait. Where are you going?'_

_'The connection to the city's network isn't fully established. Without the support of the machine, the connection will fade and my brain will eventually die.'_

The _'die'_ element of Akina's phrase was what struck Shion the most. As bizarre as the situation was, Shion felt his heart bleed at the thought of losing Akina for the second time.

Warm hand rested between his shoulder blades and he was prompted to lift his gaze up to Nezumi's face. "Maybe this is the closure you need," Nezumi said in a soft, consoling way.

 _'Good bye, Teacher'_ was the last sentence that Shion read before the screen dissolved back to the blank page that Shion had been staring at.

There were a thousand pieces to the puzzle Shion doubted he would be able to solve hovering above his head. If it weren't for Nezumi's presence, he would have lost grip on his sanity.

Nezumi held him, arms wound loosely around Shion's waist. And Shion melted in Nezumi's embrace, wondering if this was their last battle against and for No. 6.

 

 _fin_  
.  
.  
.


End file.
